The Sun Also Rises

The Sun Also Riseswas Ernest Hemingway's first big novel, and immediately established Hemingway as one of the great prose stylists, and one of the preeminent writers of his time. It is also the book that encapsulates the angst of the post-World War I generation, known as the Lost Generation. This poignantly beautiful story of a group of American and English expatriates in Paris on an excursion to Pamplona represents a dramatic step forward for Hemingway's evolving style. Featuring Left Bank Paris in the 1920s and brutally realistic descriptions of bullfighting in Spain, the story is about the flamboyant Lady Brett Ashley and the hapless Jake Barnes. In an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions, this is the Lost Generation.

Just finished this book today. I must say, sometimes I wonder why Hemingway didn't just delve into the noir genre. The amount of masculinity in this story and all that is associated with living in 1920's France (and Spain of course) is astounding and everything that shaped Hemingway as a person and his writing style. The author of this book is not everyone's forte of course. In many parts of the book there's a lot more character interaction and less general narating and paragraphs. He is also known for very short sentences as well. But I really did enjoy this story and can't wait to see the movie adaptation that I have saved to my list.

Eating, drinking, living, this is a classic Hemingway story. His style is clearly not for the majority of "modern people", but if you'd like a picture of 1920s Paris painted on your mind, read this book.

I agree fully with the comment by Spitlead. This book was a challenge to get through and left me feeling incredibly annoyed with the author by the end. The only question on anyone's mind that just so happens to NEVER get answered is: what is wrong with Jake Barnes?? Both in terms of his physical injury and whether or not THAT is the reason he never makes it with Brett Ashley, or is it some kind of mental incapability that keeps him in her permanent friendzone? His impotent pining over a woman he will never be with but will do anything for is incredibly pathetic and does nothing to endear the reader to the protagonist at all. What a wimp. Maybe the magic of this novel is lost on my 2016 viewpoint, or maybe I'm just 'not artistic enough' to get the point of this book, but it really seems to have NO point whatsoever. If Hemingway presented a book like this today to be published as a novel, he'd likely be told to just go be a travel writer. That said, it is clear the author was passionate about bullfights, and the only magical part of this novel is when he describes them in detail.

Since reading this story, I've been fantasizing about visiting Pamplona for the running of the Bulls. From what I gather it’s a long week of parties, feasts, wine-drinking, dancing, music, and bull fights. Sounds pretty horrible, right?